Grants

Municipalities work with the same financial challenge that faces most businesses and households in their communities: stretching dollars to accomplish as much as possible.
To this end, the City of Montrose has a successful grants program that has garnered received numerous state and federal grants over the years. These awards have helped to effectively recapture tax dollars that have left the community and re-invest those funds in Montrose.

Among the city's most successful grant projects are those that strengthen relationships with local government agencies, non-profit organizations, and businesses by working collaboratively. This approach has garnered grant funds that have gone toward a broad range of community programs and projects.

Grant Selection Criteria

In pursuing grants, the city looks for opportunities that:

Leverage local tax dollars and resources to incentivize economic growth, strengthen city infrastructure, and improve delivery of services

Provide social, cultural, and recreational opportunities for the community

Are conducive to partnering with other community organizations, which increases the likelihood of success, helps prevent competing grant applications from within the community, and ensures that grant-funded projects provide benefits to a broader segment of the population

Impose minimal administrative and regulatory overhead costs

Align with existing project and community priorities

Allow local non-profit organizations to receive grants with the city acting as a pass-through agency

Organizations interested in seeking a grant partnership with the City of Montrose should review the city's Grant Management Policy and submit the Grant Partnership Request Form. Questions may be directed to Grant Coordinator Kendall Cramer at 970-497-8531 or at kcramer@ci.montrose.co.us.

GOCO-funded playground at Columbine Middle School - Completed November 2018

Office Hours

Monday - Thursday
7 a.m. - 6 p.m.

Success Stories

Since 2012 the city and its partners have received a total of $10 million for uses that range from major infrastructure projects to enhanced public safety services. Following are a few examples of grants that the city and its community partners have received since 2016.

2019 Grants

Opportunity Zone Technical Assistance Grant – Grantor: Department of Local Affairs Grant Award: $25,000Total Project Cost: $50,000Project: The City of Montrose in partnership with Montrose County have been awarded $25,000 from DOLA to prepare an opportunity zone prospectus to attract new investment in and around the Montrose community. The Opportunity Zone program was created as part of the 2017 federal tax reform package also known as the "Tax Cuts and Jobs Act," to encourage capital investment in low-growth and economically distressed communities across the country. An opportunity zone prospectus is a marketing tool provided to investors to learn about the community’s growth priorities. The prospectus will include data on the community and population, a profile of strategic advantages, and an outline of important projects in Montrose that will accept opportunity zone investments. The city and county will each contribute $12,500 toward the project.

Gray and Black Market Marijuana Enforcement Grant – Grantor: Deptartment of Local Affairs Grant Award: $69,446Total Project Cost: $69,446Project: The City of Montrose has been awarded $69,446 to help cover the costs associated with investigation and prosecution of black market marijuana production. Funds will cover costs for personnel, operational, and equipment costs to investigate, enforce, and prosecute illegal marijuana grow and sale operations.

Uncompahgre River Improvements Project – Grantor: Colorado Water Conservation Board Watershed Restoration Grant Grant Award: $400,000Total Project Cost: $1,600,000Project: The City of Montrose has been selected to receive $400,000 from the Colorado Water Conservation Board (CWCB) through the Colorado Watershed Restoration Program for improvements on the Uncompahgre River. The grant funds will be used to begin Phase 1 of river restoration improvements on 0.65 miles, or 3,400 feet, of the Uncompahgre River, traversing Montrose. The project will include reestablishing a resilient channel, connecting the river to its floodplain, creating a stable riparian zone, improving fish and other aquatic habitats, stabilizing the river banks, and providing river access to the public.

2018 Grants

Colorado Youth Corps Association - Grantor: Great Outdoors Colorado Grant Award: $27,000Total Project Cost: $35,713Project: The City of Montrose has been selected by the Colorado Youth Corps Association and Great Outdoors Colorado (GOCO) to receive three weeks of work from the Western Colorado Conservation Corps (WCCC) to assist with the city’s continued efforts to remove invasive Russian olive from the riparian corridor at Cerise Park in spring 2019. The WCCC crew’s efforts are valued at $27,000. The city will support the efforts of the crew by providing an in-kind match of $8,713.

Cedar Creek Cemetery - Ground Penetrating Radar - Grantor: History Colorado - State Historical Fund Grant Award: $9,998Total Project Cost: $9,998Project: History Colorado - State Historical Fund has awarded approximately $10,000 to the city to conduct ground penetrating radar assessments at Cedar Creek Cemetery. Ground penetrating radar (GPR) will be used to assess burial plots in a portion of Section F, of the cemetery. Section F is one of the oldest sections of the cemetery. GPR is non-invasive and non-destructive to burial sites.

Holly Park and Riverbottom Drive Renovation Project – Grantor: Department of Local Affairs Grant Award: $500,000Total Project Cost: $2,486,003Project: The City of Montrose in partnership with the Montrose Recreation District has been awarded $500,000 from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs to support the renovation of Holly Park and Riverbottom Drive. Funds were awarded through the Energy/Mineral Impact Assistance Fund (EIAF) Program. The city’s portion of the project includes widening Riverbottom Drive, adding sidewalks, aligning the Riverbottom Drive/South Rio Grande Avenue intersection, constructing a four foot wide bicycle lane, and piping the irrigation ditch which will allow for 50 new, paved parking spaces. A formal entrance will be created with a large monument sign, landscaping, and an informational kiosk. The MRD’s portion will include removing the deteriorating tennis courts, adding 77 new parking spaces, including two EV Charging Stations, expanding the softball field, accommodating a larger multi-purpose field, landscaping, relocation of electrical panels, construction of new dugouts, replacing field lights, expanding the basketball court, and drainage improvements.

Historic Montrose County Jail - Construction Documents - Grantor: History Colorado - State Historical Fund Grant Award: $34,862Total Project Cost: $46,483 Project: History Colorado - State Historical Fund has awarded the city $34,862 to begin preparing construction documents to guide preservation and restoration efforts for the historic 1885 jail located behind Abel’s Hardware at 217 South First Street. The city's vision for the jail, a brief home to the infamous outlaw Butch Cassidy, is to preserve the interior of the building and restore the exterior to its original condition. The city acquired the building in 2016.

Maslow Academy - Infant and Early Childcare - Grantor: Department of Local Affairs Grant Award: $600,000Total Project Cost: $1,348,001Project: The City of Montrose in partnership with Maslow Academy received $600,000 in Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds from the Colorado Department of Local Affairs (DOLA) to assist with the purchase of property the academy was leasing at 120 North Hillcrest Drive. Maslow Academy is a Colorado non-profit 501(c) 3 organization which provides infant and early childcare, as well as education through fifth grade. Maslow Academy met the federal low-to-moderate income requirements to be eligible for the CDBG grant. The requirement is for Maslow to ensure that at least 51-percent of its service units are provided to low-income earning households for five years. Maslow Academy and other project partners will provide the match.

Denver and Rio Grande Depot - Roof Renovation - Grantor: History Colorado - State Historical Fund Grant Award: $200,000Total Project Cost: $271,128 Project: History Colorado - State Historical Fund has awarded the city $200,000 for roof rehabilitation work at the city-owned, historic Denver and Rio Grande Depot, located at 21 North Rio Grande Avenue. The Montrose County Historical Society leases the building for use as the Montrose County Historical Museum. The city will match the $200,000 grant with $71,128 in local funds. Construction is slated to begin in Spring 2019. All 6,000 Mission-style roof tiles will be removed to replace the roof underlayment. The original tiles will then be re-installed.

Woodgate Trails Senior Apartments - Grantor: Department of Local Affairs Grant Award: $500,000Total Project Cost: $13,000,000Project: DOLA is providing $500,000 in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to support the acquisition of property for the development of Woodgate Trails Senior Apartments, a 50-unit housing development for individuals aged 55 and over. The project, to be constructed and managed by Four Corners Development LLC, will help meet the growing demand for affordable housing for seniors in the community.

School Yard Initiative — Columbine Middle School - Grantor: Great Outdoors Colorado Grant Award: $110,000Total Project Cost: $161,043Project: Montrose County School District received funds to construct a nature-based play yard and outdoor learning center at Columbine Middle School with features designed by students. The addition of grant funds will added an exciting new element to the new school facility while helping to maintain the overall construction budget.

2017 Grants

Colorado Youth Corps Association - Grantor: Great Outdoors Colorado Grant Award: $18,000Total Project Cost: $24,223Project: Western Colorado Conservation Youth Corps members will remove invasive Russian olive and tamarisk at Cerise, Riverbottom, and Taviwach parks.
Connecting People to their Parks and Recreation — Connect Trail - Grantor: Great Outdoors Colorado Grant Award: $2,000,000 Total Project Cost: $4,470,449
Project: This project will construct 2.25 miles of concrete trail that will connect city residents to their parks and recreational facilities. The Montrose Community Recreation Center will serve as the southern trailhead. The trail will run along Dry Cedar Creek, beneath the Highway 550 underpass, and head westward to the existing river trail. On the north end, the trail will begin at the West Main Street Trailhead, run beneath the Highway 90 underpass, and head north to the Montrose Urban Renewal Authority development.

Brownfields Assessment Grant - Grantor: U.S. EPA Grant Award: $300,000Total Project Cost: $315,500 Project: Grant funds will be used to complete environmental assessments on underutilized properties in Montrose where the reuse of the property may be complicated by the presence, or potential presence, of a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant. These funds complement another Brownfields grant received in 2015.

2016 Grants

Sharing Ministries Food Bank - Grantor: Department of Local Affairs Grant Award: $600,000Total Project Cost: $1,616,792 Project: This project involved the construction of a 9,000-square-foot building, including parking, landscaping and access, as a food bank for Sharing Ministries, Inc., a non-profit organization whose long-standing vision is to alleviate hunger in the communities of southwest Colorado. The organization provides nourishing food to needy individuals and families, promotes public awareness of hunger issues and nutrition, and assists in self-sufficiency.

The PIC Place - Grantor: Department of Local Affairs Grant Award: $600,000Total Project Cost: $2,174,956 Project: Funding was used to rehabilitate a vacant 9,400-square-foot commercial property to facilitate the relocation and expansion of the Community Dental Clinic in Montrose and creation of The PIC Place. This efficient healthcare facility includes 15 individual treatment areas for primary care and dental services, offices for delivering behavioral health services, small group and community education rooms, and open, shared provider work spaces allowing effective team care. Services are provided to persons of low income and the medically underserved.